Craters on the two largest objects in the asteroid belt could help identify at what point during the early solar system Jupiter was created. Vesta and Ceres are believed to be two of the oldest objects in the solar system and studying them could shed

Previous missions to Mars have been searching for signs that Mars once had liquid water, and potentially habitats for life. The next generation of martian rovers will search for signs of past or present life on Mars more directly. Technologies for such missions are now

NASA has announced that Cabeus A will be the target crater for the LCROSS dual impacts next month. The LCROSS mission will search for water ice in the permanently shadowed lunar crater by sending its spent upper-stage rocket on a collision course with the Moon's

A rover that has been driving across the ocean floor off the California coast is providing researchers with an entirely new view of life in the deep ocean. The Benthic Rover is exploring the unique habitats deep below the Pacific waters and is also helping

New research confirms that a rise in atmospheric oxygen drove oxygenation of ancient oceans on Earth, and ultimately led to the evolution of complex animals. The study provides insight into how the Earth came to support the wide diversity of life we see today.

New studies of mixotrophic algae have shown how such organisms could survive the darkened skies that follow a major asteroid impact. Such studies indicate how life manages to survive after a mass extinction event.

The latest findings concerning Titan indicate that the Saturnian moon could contain valuable in situ resources for future explorers, including fuels like propane. The discovery of propane could help scientists further understand the chemistry of Titan's atmosphere, and the potential for life's building blocks to

The Sun is in the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Some observers are starting to wonder, are sunspots disappearing? Sunspots can have profound effects on the Earth's climate as well as human and satellite missions in orbit.

Members of the 2009 AMASE Expedition describe their work in the 'scientific playground' of Bockfjorden on the arctic island of Svalbard. The team collected samples of rock and ice that will be examined for signs of life. In doing so, they are testing technologies that

Astronomers have discovered gaseous napthalene drifting along through space in interstellar clouds. Studying the composition of interstellar clouds will help scientists understand chemical processes in space that formed many of the molecules present on Earth - including those necessary for the origin of life.

Scientists have found that the 11-year solar cycle, the stratosphere and the tropical Pacific Ocean work in sync to generate periodic weather patterns that affect the globe. The findings could be used to predict future climate patterns on Earth.

India has lost contact with the lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1. The loss came less than a week after the spacecraft teamed up with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for an experiment to test for water ice on the Moon. Water ice could prove to be a vital

New simulations show that a collision between small, satellite galaxies and our own Milky Way will not tear apart the disk of our home galaxy. Our largest satellite galaxies are the Large and Small Megellanic Clouds, and astronomers once thought a collision with them would

In the early days of the solar system, our Sun would not have been hot enough to keep the Earth from freezing. However, liquid water was present on the early Earth. Now, scientists believe that greenhouse gasses may have played a role in keeping Earth's